On Media

Eldridge seeks communications director

By DYLAN BYERS

04/16/2014 03:23 PM EDT

Days after a POLITICO report highlighted Sean Eldridge's less-than-stellar relationship with the media, the NY-19 congressional hopeful and husband of New Republic owner Chris Hughes is looking to hire a communications director.

In a job listing posted online, the Eldridge campaign says it is seeking an "experienced, energetic Communications Director to manage the campaign's day-to-day operations of press strategy."

Eldridge has been working with the public relations firm SKDKnickerbocker for more than a year, but in the wake of negative press reports, both Eldridge and SKD are hoping to give more attention to his campaign. (SKD will continue to work with his campaign.)

In a piece this month titled "Chasing Sean Eldridge," POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt described how the 27-year-old candidate evaded his attempts for an interview. Eldridge later spoke to the website HudsonValley.com and dismissed POLITICO as "a D.C.-based blog."

Eldridge has rarely received positive treatment from the national press. Last summer, The New York Times ran a profile that focused primarily on how Eldridge and Hughes had bought multiple million-dollar houses in New York's Hudson Valley in order to pursue his political ambitions.

UPDATE (4:50 p.m.): The National Republican Congressional Committee sent a (tongue-in-cheek) application for the Communications Director job to Eldridge. Some highlights:

Dear Sean,

I am writing to apply for the recently posted position of “Communications Director – Sean Eldridge for Congress.” ... Should you choose to hire me, I would advise that you do a few things. First, unlock your campaign doors. While I understand that you may be concerned about volunteers stealing your Cartier watch or other valuable items, this makes you look like an out-of-touch aristocrat. ... Second, stop buying so many houses. While most people struggle to pay a rent or a mortgage, you are dropping $5 million for a house here, $2 million for a house there, etc. If you must buy another house, can you get something a little less expensive? Maybe something without an Infinity pool? ... Third, stop talking about campaign finance reform. You have spent a million dollars of your own money on your campaign and have spent far more than that through your Hudson River Ventures Super PAC. You also just rejected an offer from your opponent to cap spending in your race. So the more you talk about campaign finance the more you look like a phony. Stop. Please.